23% price rise in airfares to flow into group tour costs


Travel agencies are planning to hike prices following announcements by carriers of a 23 per cent hike in airfares.

Ben Thanh Tourist said it is considering a 10 per cent rise while Vietravel said it would hike some tour prices by 5 per cent.

Nguyen Chung Thuy, PR manager of Lua Viet Tours, said the company had to adjust its prices due to the higher air fares.


Website to encourage voting for Jeju Island, Ha Long Bay



A website to encourage voting for South Korea's Jeju Island and Viet Nam's Ha Long Bay as among seven new wonders of the world has been launched at www.jeju-ha-long.com.

The website, which has been established with the co-operation of South Korean Culture Centre in Ha Noi and Viet Nam's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, provides sufficient information on the two destinations and guide for voting in English, Vietnamese and Korean.

The website is expected to attract votes from more than 10 million South Korean and Vietnamese people.


Air Mekong puts on more summer flights to Con Dao


Air Mekong and Vasco will operate more flights to Con Dao Island to meet the surge in demand for travel to the island during the summer holidays.

From June 1 Vasco will increase the number of weekly flights between HCM City and Con Dao from the current 21 to 28. From June 1 of this year, it will also fly between Can Tho and Con Dao four times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays and consider increasing the frequency depending on demand.

Air Mekong will fly daily between HCM City-Con Dao against two to three times a week now.


Samurai Tours organises familiarisation trip to Japan


HCM City-based Samurai Tours will take Vietnamese travel firms to Japan to assess the impact of the March earthquake/tsunami in Japan as part of plans to regain the trust of Vietnamese travellers.

Samurai Tours in co-operation with All Nippon Airways and Japanese tourism service providers will organise a trip for 12 to 15 tour operators to popular tourist attractions in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya between May 30 and June 6.

Like other Vietnamese travel firms, Samurai Tours has also temporarily suspended tours to the country after the natural disaster struck north-eastern Japan.


VietNamNet/Viet Nam News